OK, kiddo! Here are all the fantastically amazing posts tagged with School boards
Lobby Group Endorses Homophobic School Trustees
Remember the obsessively anti-gay lobby group Defend Traditional Marriage and Family? (They’re the ones who publicly demanded that a non-religious counseling centre stop providing meeting space to a gay rights group.) Well, now they’re pestering candidates for their local public school board with homophobic questionnaires!
Kitchener candidate, Rob McNeil, said he was baffled by the “irrelevant and offensive” survey:
There was no question of value on it. It just blew my mind because there are so many other important issues going on. There’s school safety, there’s the balanced school day. This is a questionnaire based only on how I stand on the gay rights issue—which, to me, has nothing to do with “can you balance a set of books at the school board?”
Well, that’s the thing with the “pro-family” lobby, isn’t it? They’re one-issue folks. You could be a pointy, baby-eating vampire robot and still win their endorsement, so long as you’re anti-gay. Heck, they’re so one-issue that they’ve got more gay-related material on their website than I do!
Incidentally, only 1 of the 6 candidates ended up receiving an endorsement. According to the group’s newsletter, that candidate didn’t agree with many of their views on gays—but he was the only to actually return the survey.
Trustee: Gay-Friendly Courses Leads To Hooky
A more gay-friendly curriculum would directly cause student absenses and a “loss of confidence in the community,” according to Heather Stilwell, a Surrey School Board trustee. (Holy crap, can you imagine? Our children will learn nothing!)
The bizarre comments came after the education ministry delivered letters to the school board, demanding adherence to the Alternative Delivery Policy. The policy outlines circumstances in which a parent may withdraw their child from classes, and baselessly withdrawing students from classes discussing gay role models isn’t one of them. As you can guess, that sent Stilwell off the deep end:
Parents will arrange dentist and doctor appointments during class times if the education ministry orders districts to enforce its alternative curriculum. What [the policy] will force them to do is lie. There’ll be a loss of confidence in the community.
Good heavens! So, there you have it. Hide, children. Skip classes. The school board demands it—for the good of society!
- Skipping out on gay-friendly curriculum? [Surrey Leader]
- Hooky touted for anti-gay parents [The Province]
New Social Justice Course Offered
British Columbia high school students have a new elective to choose from next year! The course, entitled Social Justice Issues, covers various topics including race, ethnicity, women’s rights, and sexual orientation.
This is great news. But how do you suppose the “pro-family” scribes at LifeSite reported this?
“Government Agrees to Mandatory Homosexual Curriculum with No Opt-Out for Students or Parents!” Aaaaaaah!
Yes, that’s their actual headline. Of course it’s completely false, as the course is an elective—not mandatory. But, naturally, anything coming from a group that calls themselves “pro-family” when they’re actually crazily anti-gay is to be taken with a grain of salt. A big grain of make-believe space salt, anyway.
And to all students taking the new course next year, good for you! Never stop bettering yourselves.
School Board: Stop Calling Bad Things “Gay”
Using the phrase “that’s so gay” to mean “that’s horrible” has become unacceptably common, the Greater Victoria School District announced last month. And now they’re doing something about it!
Armed with the slogan “That’s so gay is not OK,” school trustees launched a campaign aimed at getting students to think about what they say. Sara Bisson, a grade 11 student, agrees with the plan and thinks students don’t always realise they’re being hurtful.
They don’t really mean it in a homophobic way, it’s just said in a derogatory way and if you confront someone and say, “do you realize what you’re saying,” they usually say, “oh, but I didn’t mean it like that.”
Regardless of how successful the program turns out to be, it’s a positive step. Now, if only we could get the anti-gays to realise that “you’re evil and God hates you” is also irrationally hateful, we’d be all set!
- Schools aim to eliminate homophobic phrase [Globe and Mail]
- In-school campaign seeks to ‘out’ homophobes [Victoria News]
Halifax’s Teacher Survey
Oh, goody! The Halifax Regional School Board (yes, the same one that was punished by the Human Rights Commission for assuming their gay teachers were molesting students) will now be sending out a lovely batch of surveys! The surveys, which each teacher will be required to fill out and sign tomorrow, includes the age-old question: “Are you heterosexual, bisexual, gay, or lesbian?” You know, because that would shed so much light on how well someone can teach long division…
While the school board was quick to note that they won’t be penalizing teachers for unanswered questions (gee, how nice of them!), the Nova Scotia Teachers Union is unimpressed. President Mary-Lou Donnelly isn’t quite sure what to recommend to union members, claiming that the board soundly rejected her suggestion of making the surveys anonymous.
The board will probably be more subtle next year (“Which of the following sexes would you most like to marry?”), but, in the meantime, I suggest that the current wording leaves only one answer…
Q: Are you heterosexual, bisexual, gay, or lesbian?
A: Yes.
- ‘Are you gay?’ school board asks teachers [CBC News]
Gym Teacher Washes Hands
Lindsay Willow is a gym teacher. She is also a lesbian. One fine September, Ms. Willow was busy organizing an equipment storage room with a student helper. After the room was all tidy, they both washed their hands and stepped into the hallway. The end.
Oh, wait, no; I forgot to mention—one more thing happened. A minor detail, really. You see, at that moment, a fellow teacher saw the two leaving the locker room and, because Ms. Willow is gay, presumed her to be a child molester! He then presented outlandish allegations to his colleagues, the principal, and, of course, the police. The former two believed the loony yarn without any evidence whatsoever, and Ms. Willow was severely disciplined.
Sound unbelievable? Well, it happened! The Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission announced last week that Ms. Willow was falsely accused of molestation based solely on her sexual orientation. The tribunal then ordered the Halifax Regional School Board to deliver a full written apology and monetary compensation for their prejudiced nonsense. Because, you know, there’s no heartfelt apology quite like a court-ordered heartfelt apology.
As for the moral of the story, let this be a lesson to all the gays out there: Never wash your hands.
- Rights board vindicates gay N.S. teacher [Globe and Mail]
- Tribunal sides with gay teacher in rights fight [Globe and Mail]
Children’s Book Deemed “Too Sophisticated”
Once upon a time, there was a young prince who “never cared much for princesses.” Although his mother introduced him to several potential suitors, he just couldn’t find someone to marry. But one fine day, he was elated to discover another handsome young prince! They married and lived happily ever after! The end.
Thus goes the plot of the children’s picture book, King & King, which was rejected on Tuesday by a Surrey School Board committee for being “too sophisticated” for grade three. And we shan’t be introducing the children to that sort of sophistication, shall we?
But fear not, kids! If King & King is too hard to follow, there’s always The Lion King: A tale of Mufasa, an emporer murdered at the hand of his rancorous brother—who deceives the rightful heir into believing he’s responsible for his father’s death. It’s a classic Disney tale of overcoming personal anguish in exile, and it’s available in picture book, too! Enjoy!
- Censorship Continues at Surrey School Board [Egale Canada]
- More gay books being considered [The Surrey Leader]
